title: Impact of sleep-disordered breathing on life-threatening ventricular arrhythmia in heart failure patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillator.
abstract: It was recognized that sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is associated with cardiac arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death. However, it was unclear whether the presence of SDB increased the risk of life-threatening ventricular arrhythmia in patients with heart failure (HF) with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD). Seventy-one patients with HF and an ICD who were followed up for 180 days after a sleep study were prospectively studied. All patients had an ejection fraction <or=35%. SDB was defined as an apnea-hypopnea index >or=10 events/hour on the sleep study. The frequency of appropriate ICD therapy and the day-night pattern of ICD therapies were compared between patients with and without SDB. SDB was diagnosed in 47 of 71 patients (66%). There were no statistical differences between patients with and without SDB in baseline cardiac function. However, appropriate ICD therapies occurred more frequently in patients with (43%) than without SDB (17%; p = 0.029). On multivariate analysis, the presence of SDB was an independent predictor for appropriate ICD therapy (hazard ratio 4.05, 95% confidence interval 1.20 to 13.65, p = 0.015). Moreover, the rate of total ICD therapy from midnight to 6 A.M. was significantly higher in patients with (34%) than without SDB (13%; p = 0.046). In conclusion, in patients with HF with an ICD, the presence of SDB was common and an independent predictor of life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias that were more likely to occur during sleep.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Naoki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Serizawa
authors.forename: Dai
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yumino
authors.forename: Katsuya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kajimoto
authors.forename: Yoshimi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tagawa
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Takagi
authors.forename: Morio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shoda
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kasanuki
authors.forename: Nobuhisa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hagiwara
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017147:Defibrillators, Implantable; D004554:Electric Countershock / Q000295:instrumentation*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013318:Stroke Volume / Q000502:physiology; D017180:Tachycardia, Ventricular / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy; D016896:Treatment Outcome